Method of drafting uppers on lasts



Aug-11, 1959 E. l. LA CHAPELLE 2,898,615

METHOD OF DRFTING yUPPERS ON'LASTS Filed Oct. 8, 1954 L 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Fig. 2

INVENTOR.

Aug. 11, 1959 E. l. LA CHAPELLE 2,898,615

METHOD 0F DRAFTING UPPERS ON LASTS Filed Oct. 8, 1954 i5 Sheets-Sheet 2IN VEN TOR.

Aug. 11, 1959 E. l. LA CHAPELLE METHOD oF DRAFTING UPPERs oN LAsTs Filedoct. a, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheff.. 3

INVENTOR.

JJ i i nited States f' METHOD on DRAFIING UPPERS oN LAsTs Euclid I. LaChapelle, Brockton, Mass., assignor of onefourth to Albert L. LaChapelle, one-fourth to Beatrice H. La Chapelle, and one-fourth toRachel E. La Chapelle; Beatrice H. La Chapelle executrix of said EuclidI. La Chapelle, deceased Application October 8, 1954, Serial No. 461,101

1 Claim. (Cl. 12-145) Vthe claim is to be interpreted to include theterm boot The term fastening the upper on the innersole, occurring inthe specification and in the appended claim is to be interpreted broadlyto include' any kind of fastening means, such as formed of cementitiousmaterial or vulcanizing, and whenever the fastening means are in theform of lasting tacks, as herein shown, it is to be understood thatthere may be any number of them.

This invention is an improvement over the inventions shown in twopatents of the United States issued in the name of the applicant Januaryll, 1916, No. 1,168,011 and No. l,l68,0l2, respectively, for machinesfor working an upper on a last, wherein no provision had been made towork the upper on a last by overstretching the upper from the heel-endto the toe-end of the last in working the toe-end of the upper on thetoe-end of the last, as herein proposed.

The entire patentable subject matter of my invention and of theapplication resides only in the practice of the method herein shown,described and claimed, in coordination with upper pressing means, of anysuitable form, as all the mechanical elements herein shown and describedwhether Vprovided with tip measuring means or not, are herein shown forconvenience only. The appended claim is to be interpreted in that senseto give to my invention all the protection to which I am entitled underthe statutes.

A shoe of the well known Goodyear welt type is herein shown forconvenience only, as my invention is intended for use on any adaptablekind or type of shoe.

In a broader aspect of my invention, upper pressing means, of anysuitable form, may be substituted for the automatic tip-measurer hereinshown; and any suitable machine or apparatus may be substituted for thelasting machine herein shown.

The present pulling over machine operation may lead to defective shoesin that the drafting of the upper by the toe-end gripper of the machineis limited to stretching the upper from the heel-end to the toe-end ofthe last, leaving the upper bridging the last notably so at its forepartback of the toe portion and then with its throat of vamp portionbridging on the cone of the last, to be properly set down on the cone ofthe last at the side lasting machine operation, in which,disadvantageously, overstretching the upper and its lining, madenecessary to set the upper with overtensioned pincers of the sidelasting machine is necessary to set the upper but even then may notaccomplish permanent results, as the back of toe portion of the uppergradually works away from the underlying surface of the last. Then theback of toe portion of the upper is said to drum and it is left tocrowners (expert hand lasters employed .to inspect and to correct anydefective conditions in lasting once the shoes have been completelylasted) to remove the lasting tacks and re-pull the back of toe portionof the upper which oftentimes is found to lbe upstanding from the last,and then lthe lining of the upper is often torn if not the upper proper.And this is not all, as the highly tensioned pincers of the side lastingmachine may set the lining of the upper so tight on the last that thelinings tear under the stress to which subjected at the last pullingoperation. It is a notable fact that neither the side lasting machinenor the operator should be held responsible for the above stated seriousdefective conditions when the real culprit is the pulling over machinein failing to properly set the back of toe portion of the upper on theunderlying surface of the last in `its performance of the drafting ofthe upper from the heel end to the toe end of the last.

After the performance of the side lasting machine operation the shoe,notably when the shoe is of the Goodyear welt type, is passed to theconventional bed type toe and heel lasting machine and once the operatorhas removed the temporary lasting tacks at the toe-end and at the sidesof the toe of the last that had been driven through the upper and thetoe box and part way into the wood of the last by the pulling overmachine, he then sets the toepart of the shoe on a steaming apparatusadapted to vapor soften the boxtoe andthe upper while he performs thetoe wiping operation upon a shoe that has already -been vapor treated,by first engaging the toeend of the upper and toe box with hand lastingpincers and he stretches the toe-end vof the upper and of the boxtoeheightwise of the last and then, While holding the toe-end of the upperand of the toe box in stretched condition on the toe-end of the last, heactuates the toe wipers, and he then overstretches the softened upperand the softened toe box at the corners of the toe of'the last with handlasting pincers and by consecutive Wiper and hand lasting pincermovements upon the upper and the toe box, he attains a satisfactory toewiping operation and then, while the wipers are in holding engagementwith the wiped toe of the upper and of the softened toe box, he fastensthe wiped toepart of the upper in wiped lcondition on the innersoleassembled on the last.

It is important to state that I have, preferably, shown herein a toe andheel lasting machine in the practice of my novel method as then all thepulling over steps and all the subsequent lasting operations may beperformed at a single setting of the shoe on the said machine, andalthough such a machine is greatly advantageous in that respect,.I amnot one to resist progress` and to oppose the setting of an automatictoe wiping and/or of an automatic heel lasting machine in close relationto any machine or apparatus adapted to the practice of my novel method,whereby the toes, and the heels, of shoes may be automatically lastedafter having been properly drafted and pulled over, as herein proposed.

In this connection, it is to be understood that the Well known handoperated tacker and the Iwell known motive power actuated tack loadertherefor, which are old in the art and which are not integral. with theherein shown lasting machine and which are not herein shown, would beprovided in .the event that a shoe manufacturer should elect to have theheel portion wiped and lasted on the herein shown -lasting machine inpreference to having this operation performed by an automatic heellasting machine.

The objective of my invention is to improve the drafting operation upona shoe upper (such as of the conventhat will stand up far better thanheretofore (which feature may Well be a sales appeal) and which willretain its original shape for a longer time than heretofore during thetime of wear.

As shown in the accompanying drawings:

Figu-re 1 shows the top view of a conventional bed type toe and heelwiping machine, with the provision of an automatic tip-measurer servingalso as an upper presser adapted to press the back of toe portion of theupper, and actuating mechanism therefor;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the machine shown in Fig. 1, with handlasting pincers in engagement with the toe-end of the upper and a toebox after overstretching the upper from the heel-end to the toe-end ofthe last;

Figure 3 shows the hand pincers holding the edge face of the portion ofthe upper positioned beyond the tipmeasurer which is toward the end ofits pressing movement upon the back of toe portion of the upper;

Figure 4 shows a detail View of the machine shown in Fig, 1, with thetoe-end of the upper and the toe box engaged by the hand pincers, withthe pincers handle in raised condition and the jaws of the pincers indownward condition past the toe-end of the last thereby allowing thetoe-end of the upper and of the toe box to move rearwardly on thetoe-end of the last in timed relation with the pressing movement of theupper pressing means I then in engagement with the bridged back toeportion of the upper, and then without releasing the over- Vstretching`already performed upon the upper from the heel-end to the toe-end ofthe last, in still holding the upper and the toe box on the toe-end ofthe last against the rearward strain then upon the toe-end of the upperunder the inuence of the pressure exerted upon the back of toe portionof the upper by the upper pressing means, and thereby the toe-end of theoverstretched upper and the toe box are solidly set on the toe-end ofthe last under the influence of the pressure exerted upon the back oftoe portion of the upper by the upper pressing means;

Figure 5 shows the tip line in contact with the tip-measurer and withthe toe-end of the upper and the toe box held from rearward movement onthe toe-end of the last;

Figure 6 shows the hand pincers overstretching the upper and the toe boxheightwise of the last at the sides of the toe of the last;

Figure 7 shows the overstretched upper and the tempered boxtoe in pulledover condition on the sides of the toe of the last;

Figure 8 shows the engagement of the upper and of the ends of thecounter by the hand lasting pincers in stretching the upper and the endsof the counter heightwise of the last and, by a turn of the handpincers, then in a diagonal toeward direction, thereby firmly settingthe sides of the heel portion of the vamp of the upper and the counteron the heel of the last;

Figure 9 shows the overstretehed upper and the ends of the counter infastened condition on the last;

Figure 10 shows the hand lasting pincers in engagement with the upper atthe ball area of the last, in then stretching the upper by a compoundmovement, first height-wise of the last and, by a turn of the pincers,then in stretching the upper in a diagonal toeward direction, rrnlysetting the upper on the ball area of the last; and

Figure l1 shows the upper fastened on the last after completion of allthe drafting steps and all the pulling over steps preparatory to theperformance of the side lasting machine operation and of the toe andheel wiping operations. Y

As further shown in the drawings:

The herein shown lasting machine is of the general type of toe and heelwiping machines and comprises the base 1, the last support 2, which ismounted in the guideways 3, which are arranged for slight rockingmovement lengthwise of the machine, in which is mounted the slide 4,supporting the last supporting spindle 5, and having the adjusting means6, in the form of a series of holes through both flanges of theguide-ways 3, and which are adapted to receive the locking pin 6', inlocking the guide-ways in set position in accordance with the size ofthe shoe on the machine, thereby predetermining the extent of movementof the heel-band 7, relative to the heel-end of the shoe on the machine.Upon the said base 1, is mounted also the slidable support 8, to whichis connected the automatic tip-measurer 9, and the actuating mechanismtherefor, including its component heelband 7, of the machine and theheel wipers 10, with their actuating means 11, and the slidable support12 upon which are mounted the toe wipers 13, actuating means 14, and theholddown 13a, which is mounted on the actuating lever 13b, and the saidholddown being provided with a split collar 13C, which is secured on thesaid actuating lever, by the set screws 13d, for adjusting the holddownrelative to the requirements of the wipers in relation to the shoe onthe machine. After lan additional yielding holddown 15, has been set upto the ball line of the shoe on the machine preparatory to actuating thetip-measurer, best shown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, thefoot treadle 18 is then depressed, while lthe overstretched upper isbeing held with the hand lasting pinchers herein shown in overstretchedcondition on the toe-end of the last, and the slidable support 8 ismoved toewardly of the shoe through the sprocket chains 16 and 17, whichare connected to the slidable support 8 and the foot treadle 18. Rod 19is supported by a swivel block 20, and the said foot treadle is held upin normal position by the pull spring 22; and the tipmeasurer 23 has asplit collar mounted on its supporting rod for adjusting its shoe upperengaging portion toward or from the shoe for proper support relative tothe toe wipers and is secured in proper set condition by a set screw 26.The said tip-measurer is connected to the rod which extends through asleeve, which is connected to the swivel block 20, which is connected tothe slidable support 8, and the said rod supports an adjustable blockwhich is mounted on the screw threaded portion thereof for itsadjustment toward or from the swivel block 20, in predetermining thelength of tips in a given number of uppers, as the movement of theswivel block 20, toewardly of the shoe on the machine in the actuationof the tip-measurer brings it into contact with the said adjustableblock on the screw threaded portion of the said rod and then moves thetip-measurer toewardly of the shoe until the heel-band of the machinecomes into contact with the heel-end of the shoe on the machine. Handoperable levers 28 and 29 each have respectively a rack 99 and a rack30, engaging the pinions 31 and 32, whereby the slidable supportsrespectively for the toe wipers and the heel wipers may be moved towardor from the shoe whenever the locking means 33 and 34 are disengagedfrom the pinions 31 and 32, by means of the thumb levers 35 and 36,which are connected respectively to the locking means 33 and 34, by theoperator pressing down the said thumb levers, when the toe wipers or theheel wipers are to be set relative to the shoe on the machinepreparatory to actuating the wipers, or when the shoe is to be removedfrom the machine.

To clarify the practice of my novel method certain facts should vbenoted, such as to the need of a tip measurer as none need be provided,as no tip measurer is used in pulling over by machine or in pulling overby hand even though the last then is being supported bottom up on aspindle, and the shoe is never removed from the spindle to investigateas to the straightness of the tip on the last.

In pulling over, in the practice of my novel method, uppers of theBlicher type, the drafting movement upon the upper from the heel end tothe toe end of the upper is weaker than in the case of uppers of theBalmoral type and then the pressure exerted upon the back of toe portionof the upper incidentally is supplemental to the drafting operationlengthwise of the last, having the effect of forcing the upper, as awhole, to expand lengthwise from the heel end to the toe end of thelast.

It is well recognized that unless a shoe is well pulled over (such asherein proposed) all the subsequent major shoe making operations in the[completing of the shoe will not be as well performed as when thepulling over operation has been Well performed.

My novel method makes possible the use of shoe upper material of a gradeconsistent with the grade of shoe for which intended incontradistinction to compelling the shoe manufacturers to provide shoeupper material of a higher grade than consistent with the grade of theshoe for which intended only to withstand the excessive pulling movementupon the upper by the side lasting machine.

It is recognized that the occurrence of many cripples (torn uppersand/or linings) is quite remote in the practice of my novel method asthe bridging back of the toe portion of the upper with its lining is seton the last by pressure, while the upper is being held in overstrctchedcondition from the heel end to the toe end of the last, incontradistinction to engaging and pulling the marginal portion of thevamp of the upper heightwise of and over the sides of lthe bottom of thelast until that part of the vamp and its lining bridging over the backof toe portion of the last have been set on the last by excessivestretching of the vamp of the upper and its lining at the sides of theforepart and of the shank part of the last which oftentimes causes theupper and/ or its lining to tear and, in any event then setting thelining with such tightness on the last as to subject it to tearing atthe vlast pulling operation.

Moreover, the standard length of tips in completed shoes is 21/2 inchesfrom the extreme toe end of the last extending rearwardly thereof; and1/2 inch of the toe end of the vamp of the upper or tip of the upper inextending over the innersole assembled on the last gives that standardlength of tips in completed shoes. Thus in pulling over, one is able tojudge when to fasten the toe end of the tip or of the vamp of the upperon the innersole assembled on the last, and variance in length of tipsin a given number of shoes up to z of an inch is consideredinsignificant in the general run of shoe factories.

Having thus shown and Idescribed my invention in the best form to meknown and pointed out the patentable subject matter of my invention inthe appended claim, what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

That method of Working an upper on a last in the performance of thepulling over operation upon the forepart of the upper, by a novelcooperative combination of steps, each cooperating with the other and bysuch cooperation giving new beneficial results, which consists inproviding a conventional last and lan innersole assembled thereon and aconventional shoe upper having a vamp portion and a throat of vampportion, a toe tip portion, and including its conventional components,such as a counter and a toe box, assembled on the said last, in engagingthe toe end of the upper with pulling means and pulling the uppertoewardly of the last to overstretch the upper from its heel end to itstoe end to firmly set the counter on the heel end of the last and thetoe box on the toe end of the last and to carry the toe tip line of theupper toewardly beyond the toe tip line of the shoe when completed andcause the back of the toe vamp portion of the upper, including itsthroat of vamp portion, to bridge over the runderlying surface of thelast, thereafter engaging and urging the bridged over back of toeportion of the upper, including its throat of vamp portion, toward theunderlying surface of the last to press and set the bridged over back oftoe portion of the upper to the underlying surface of the last and,under the influence of such pressure, moving the throat of vamp of theupper down and in proper set condition on the cone of the last, whilesimultaneously releasing partially the pull at the toe end of the upperin timed coordination with the engagement and urging of the bridged overback of toe portion of the upper toward the underlying surface of thelast, causing the toe tip portion of the upper, situated forwardly ofthe tip line, to move rearwardly until the tip line reaches its positionon the last for the proper length of the tip in the completed shoe,without appreciably releasing the already imparted overstretchingbetween the heel end and the toe end of the upper, thereafter, while thetoe end of the drafted upper is being held from rearward movement on thetoe end of the last, pulling over the sides of the toe part of the upperand of the toe box with an extra strong pulling over movement to stretchthe upper and the toe box, height- Wise and then over the innersoleassembled on the last to thereby solidly set the upper and the toe boxon the sides of the toe part of the last, and then in fastening thepulled over upper and the toe box on the innersole assembled on the lastto hold the upper and the toe box at the sides of the toe of the lastsolidly set on the last, and thereafter in performing the last step ofthe pulling over operation ofthe forepart of the upper, in engaging andpulling over the marginal portion of the already set back of toe portionof the upper on the underlying surface of the last, heightwise of thelast and over the innersole assembled on the last and in then fasteningthe pulled over upper on the innersole assembled on the last and thusthe fastened upper incidentally serving in holding the back of toeportion of the upper as set on the underlying surface of the last.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,123,663 Bennion Jan. 5, 1915 1,168,011 La Chapelle Jan. 11, 19161,289,633 Brothers Dec. 31, 1918 1,863,752 La Chappelle June 21, 19321,977,132l La Chappelle Oct. 16, 1934

